Westbury Middle School students are enjoying a working safari in Ms. Haller’s science classes. The young scientists have learned so much about the animals in their classroom that they are able to teach other children. The elementary schools in the Westbury School District bring their children to the middle school to learn about fish, snakes, lizards, turtles, chinchillas, rabbits and other creatures. The middle school students are able to teach others about these living things, as well as how to care for them. 
This hands-on learning has helped to develop a group of young people who are not only extremely knowledgeable about their subject, but also are able to share their knowledge in a mature and articulate manner. Anyone who would observe these wonderful seventh- and eighth-graders would be impressed by how eager they are to share their newly acquired knowledge.
Ms. Haller and her students were recently invited, for the second year in a row, to present their safari to the students at the Henry Viscardi School, an accredited model school for children with severe physical disabilities. After the middle school students set up stations in the gym with the different animals, they then presented a program for the Henry Viscardi students. The middle school students showed maturity and professionalism, far beyond their years, as they explained the habitats, adaptations and eating habits of each of the animals. When possible, they even showed the Henry Viscardi students how to feed the animals. One cannot say who was filled with more joy at the end of the day—the middle school students for what they had taught or the Henry Viscardi students for what they had learned.
—Submitted by Westbury Middle School
